Ch.9 late adulthood – Flashcards

Erikson's final stage of life, characterized by a process of looking back over one's life , evaluating it , and coming to terms with it

The theory that those in old age must redefine themselves in ways that do not relate to their work roles or occupation.

A period in which people must learn to cope with and move beyond changes in physical capabilities as a result of aging

The period in which elderly people just come to grips with their coming death

People come to realize that they are no longer on the center stage , but are playing bit parts . People who enter late adulthood by passing a transition stage that typically occurs at age 60-65. People come to view themselves as being "old" and struggle with the notion that they are in this category . People in late adulthood can serve as a resource to younger individuals and may be view as "venerated elders" and old age can bring new freedom to do things simply for enjoyment and pleasure .

The period in late adulthood that makes a gradual withdrawal from the world on physical , psychological and social levels

The theory suggesting that successful aging occurs when people maintain the interests , activities and social interactions with which they were involved during middle age

The theory suggesting that people need to maintain their desired level of involvement in society in order to maximize their send to well-being and self-esteem

Social inequalities affecting various groups earlier in life are magnified with increasing age .10 % of people age 65 and older live in poverty and around 6% of the elderly live in near poverty . One source of financial vulnerability is the reliance if a fixed income , income is a combination of social security , pensions and savings , which rarely keeps up with inflation. The rising cost of health care is another financial vulnerability.

The ability to maintain friendships may take on more importance than in other states of life . Friendships may be more flexible than family relationships . Friendships are important due to the increasing likelihood of losing one's marital partner . Social support he assistance and comfort supplied by another person or a network of caring interested people . Social support can offer emotional support by lending a sympathetic ear and providing a sounding board for concern and material support ( rides ) . People who offer social support experience feeling of usefulness and heightened self-esteem .

Retirement alters the long standing distributive of household chores , with men taking in more responsibility than before . In late adulthood husbands' companionship needs tend to be greater than their wives . Men become more affiliative and less competitive following retirement. Women become more assertive and autonomous

Spouses suddenly assume a new and unfamiliar societal role : widowhood . People's social lives change drastically , may feel like the fifth wheel. Some people experience a decline in their economic well- being as the relit of a spouse's death ' mostly women . The process of adjustment to widowhood is three stages : 1st stage is preparation , spouses prepare for death of the partner , 2nd stage is grief and mourning , an immediate reaction to death of a spouse and the 3rd stage is adaptation , widowed individual starts a new life

Most parent s and kids remain fairly close , geographically and psychologically . 75% of kids live 30-min away from parents . Daughter usually have more contact with parents than sons and mostly communicate with mothers . Parents and kids share similar views of how adult kids should behave toward parents . The bonds between parents and kids are asymmetrical , with parents wanting a close relationships and kids wanting a distant one ( independence ) . Makes parent minimize conflicts with kids and kids more likely to maximize them .

Not all grandparents are equally involved . Grandmothers tend to be more involved than grandfathers & most young adult grandkids feel closer to their grandmothers a.african American grandparents tend to be more involved with their grandchildren than white grandparents . In such families , grandparents usually play a central role in childrearing .

Some people are unable to accept aging and experience despair as they get older . They are often found in nursing homes or hospitals

Others become fearful — of falling ill , of the future , of their own inability to cope . They are so fearful that they may seek help from family and care providers , even when they don't need it

Others respond to the fear of aging quite differently —by trying to stop it in its tracks . They may attempt to act young , exercising vigorously and engaging in youthful activities . Unfortunately they may set unrealistic expectations and run the risk of disappointment as a result

The most successful individuals cope comfortably with aging . They accept it with a sense of self-dignity .

prejudice and discrimination directed at older people

aging that involves universal and irreversible changes that, due to genetic programming, occur as people get older

Changes in physical and cognitive functioning that are due to illness, health habits, and other individual differences, but are not due to increased age itself and are not inevitable

Old age brings declines in the sense organs, which has major psychological consequences because the senses are people's link with the world.

Use it or lose it; Sexual intercourse for the elderly averages out for about once a week and has beneficial factors like a longer life span. The rate depends on the physical and mental health.

theories that suggest that our body's DNA genetic code contains a built-in time limit for the reproduction of human cells

The theory that the mechanical functions of the body simply wear out with age

the average age of death for members of a population

the degree to which a developing structure or behavior is modifiable due to experience

memories about one's own life

Certain environmental factors common to many older people may cause decline in memory. For example when an older person takes a certain type of medication which hinders memory.

The ability to inhibit irrelevant information and thoughts that interfere with problem solving may decrease, and the speed of information processing may decline. Another information processing view suggests that older adults lose the ability to concentrate on new material and have difficulty paying attention to appropriate stimuli and organizing material in memory, they have less efficient processes to retrieve information from memory which leads to decline in recall abilities.

Memory changes in result of brain and body deterioration. For example the decline in episodic memory may be related to the deterioration of the frontal loves of the brain or a reduction in estrogen.